The Los Angeles Lakers are 0-2 on the road to begin the 2024-25 campaign after a perfect 3-0 start at home. Friday night represents a chance for them to get into the win column for the first time away from Crypto.com Arena and end a two-game slide against the Toronto Raptors.
The Raptors were already projected to be a rebuilding team and one of the bottom-tier teams in the NBA this season. They are off to a 1-4 start that was made even worse by injuries. Scottie Barnes, Bruce Brown and Kelly Olynyk are out while Immanuel Quickley was doubtful and eventually ruled out as well.
All four of these players being out would put a massive weight on the shoulders of sophomore Gradey Dick and veteran RJ Barrett. The latter was already expected to carry a large offensive burden, but that will be even more exaggerated on Friday night without many of their top players.
The Lakers are without their usual players in Jarred Vanderbilt and Christian Wood from the rotation. However, Jaxson Hayes has done a serviceable job in his place despite the Lakers not looking great on the defensive end so far this season.
Though five games, the Lakers rank 26th in the NBA in defensive rating. Of course, not having Vanderbilt is going to be a major loss, but L.A. should still perform better than bottom-five team on the defensive end. Luckily, their offense — led by Anthony Davis — has been remarkable.
The Lakers have the No. 8 offensive rating, but it is largely because of the 30.6 points being put up by Davis on a game-to-game basis. Davis was considered probable for Friday night but informed reporters that he would play through jamming his hip on Wednesday night and is doing exactly that.
L.A. has a chance to go on a mini win streak with some beatable opponents to finish out their road trip. A hot start is critical to their plan of attack of several straight seasons of starting slow out of the gates.
Los Angeles Lakers (3-2) vs. Toronto Raptors (1-4)
4:30 p.m. PT, Friday, November 1, 2024
Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, Ontario
TV: Spectrum SportsNet
Radio: 710 AM ESPN LA
Projected Lakers Starting Lineup:
PG: D’Angelo Russell
SG: Austin Reaves
SF: Rui Hachimura
PF: LeBron James
C: Anthony Davis
Key Reserves: Max Christie, Dalton Knecht, Jaxson Hayes, Gabe Vincent
Projected Raptors Starting Lineup:
PG: Davion Mitchell
SG: Gradey Dick
SF: RJ Barrett
PF: Chris Boucher
C: Jakob Poeltl
Key Reserves: Jonathan Mogbo, Ochai Agbaji, Jamal Shead, DJ Carton
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